Field Guide to Birds of Senegal and The Gambia

Field Guide to Birds of Senegal and The Gambia – the ultimate guide for travellers and birdwatchers visiting one of Africa’s richest birdwatching regions.

The Gambia, together with the country that envelops it, Senegal, has an avifauna of more than 700 regularly occurring species. This includes many Western Palearctic migrants from September to April, and a significant list of highly sought-after resident West African birds, such as the Egyptian Plover. There is a fantastic selection of Sahel specialities that are more easily seen here than anywhere else. Senegal has become a reliable locality for Golden Nightjar, Quail-plover and Cricket Warbler, and the near-endemic Mali Firefinch occurs in the southeast of the country.

Birdwatchers in this region can also find Savile’s Bustard, Adamawa Turtle Dove, Little Grey Woodpecker, Yellow Penduline Tit, Sudan Golden Sparrow and Exclamatory Paradise Whydah. The Saloum delta’s huge roost of tens of thousands of African Swallow-tailed Kites is one of the world's top birding spectacles.

This authoritative guide covers all species in the two countries, including details of all residents, migrants and known vagrants. Almost 150 stunning colour plates depict every species, comprehensively covering all the distinct plumages and subspecies likely to be encountered. Concise species accounts describe key identification features, status, range, habitat, and voice, accompanied by accurate distribution maps.

This compact guide is an essential companion for any birder visiting this ornithologically rich slice of western Africa.